The present invention relates to an arrangement of service and control devices on one wall of a switchboard, constructed as a booth or small room, and the arrangement of switch devices on an opposite wall of the booth. The new switchboard booth is especially well adapted for low voltage elements of electrical apparatus or plants, particularly metallurgic electric furnaces.
Conventional arrangements of this type ordinarily comprise independent switchboards or switch frames which house service and control devices as well as switch devices. Larger electrical units require several of these switchboards, which are interconnected by means of cables. This results in substantial expenditure of time and labor during assembly and erection. Furthermore, these cable connections tend to be complex and hence difficult to service and to maintain. Moreover, exterior cables present a potential source of disturbance and constitute a safety hazard.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to improve the arrangement and design of this type of equipment in order to obtain a compact, simple, safe, easily serviced, and easily maintained switchboard unit. According to the present invention, this is uniquely accomplished by arranging all of the service and all of the control devices in an exteriorly accessible wall of a booth in an area forming an accessible portion of a board, while arranging switch devices on the opposite side of this area, which switch devices are accessible from the interior, and by interconnecting the service and control devices with the switch devices by means of wires and cables. Advantageously, the switchboard booth is provided with an intermediate floor, comprising readily removable treads, under which wires and cables are located. Moreover, the side walls of the switchboard booth are comprised of individual modular panels, each of which contains a specific group of service, control or switch devices. If desired, and in order to create a dust-free atmosphere within the enclosed space of the switchboard booth, it may be ventilated with build-in ventilators equipped with suitable dust filters.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for a greater appreciation of its attendant advantages, reference should be made to the following detailed description thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.